Emerald Crisis--Final Fantasy VII--Disc One, Mission 12

Edge: Seventh Heaven Bar\

            Daisy dropped Yuffie off at the bar before returning to the Lodge to rest.  Yuffie offered to let her stay but didn’t have the heart to argue when refused.  Instead, Yuffie shuffled inside as the sun climbed slowly over the buildings and glittered against the windows.  Marlene and Denzel were just waking as she entered and offered sleepy greetings that she didn’t remember returning.

            Yuffie slept deeply, forgetting for a time the aches and the bruises, both physical and emotional.  Her dreams were peaceful and faraway, memories dragged up in the wake of her battles.  She didn’t remember them clearly when she woke up, just lilies floating on the water and Wutai seen from a mountain top.  The sun was golden, and she had prayed to Leviathan before leaving home for good.

            Her phone work her when she saw that man again.  He was wearing a mask this time, but his eyes were dark like hers.  They were Wutai.

            “Hello?”

            “Yuffie Kisaragi.”

            Yuffie felt her face to make sure it was there and found it hurt to move her arms.  She groaned slowly as everything else began to hurt again, too.  “What?”

            “How are you?”

            “Sore and sleepy.”  She sat up, slowly, whining with each movement.  It wasn’t just pain anymore.  Her muscles felt dead.  She was sleeping so well and needed a bit more of it.  The world was blurry when she opened her eyes and a bit too bright.  She felt sick and had to take a few minutes to breathe through the nausea.  “Why are you calling?”

            “Ms. Daisy Gould returned without you.  I was just making sure you were well.”

            “Well enough,” Yuffie said.  She stretched her feet and toes and listened as they popped.  A breath, and it didn’t hurt so much to breathe anymore.  “We followed your lead to Shinra HQ and found some bad people up to bad things.”

            “Of course.”  Yuffie could hear the distraction in Shelke’s voice and imagined her in a dark room, lit only by the glow of her eyes and the holographic monitors that surrounded her on all sides.  “Did you find anything of value?”

            “Not really.  They’re looking for materia, it seems.”

            “We knew that already.”

            Yuffie pulled away from the phone long enough to blow a raspberry.  Then, she remembered the data she got from the hard drives and rose to dig through her clothes to find it.  She held up the thumb drive in the light.  “We got something for you, too.”

            “Good.  You should deliver it to me here.  I do not trust it going through the W.R.O.’s system.”

            Yuffie frowned and thought of Reed.  Then, she thought of Reeve, and her frown deepened. “Know what? Neither do I.  I’ll be there soon to see you in person.”

            “Good. I have something to tell you when you get here.”

Midgar Region: W.R.O.’s Hunter’s Lodge\

            Daisy was awake already when Yuffie called, and she arrived shortly after.  Yuffie hid out in her room and nursed her hurt.  When Daisy arrived, Yuffie offered a passing farewell to Tifa and the others before going outside.  She didn’t eat breakfast because it would just come back up during the car ride.

            Half an hour later they arrive at the Lodge.  The surface damage was mostly cleared.  Anti-air turrets broken in the assault had been repaired or patched.  Their remains stood, stunted, in the distance, their wiry insides tightly knotted or otherwise frayed, exposed like a fresh wound.

            Underneath the damage was still showing.  Walls were blackened from flame, cracked and fractured or otherwise collapsed entirely.  The workers there were tired and frightened.  They looked over their shoulders constantly, fearful of what might come.  The W.R.O.’s lingering suspicions helped nothing.

            Yuffie followed Daisy through the halls, holding her stomach and lamenting her decision to forego breakfast.  They got her some bread before going to Shelke’s office.  When the door opened, she greeted them without looking away from the glowing monitors in front of her.  Yuffie groans.

            “You’ve brought the data.”

            Another groan, and Yuffie handed off her thumb drive.

            Shelke turned it over in her hands and gave it a quick glance.  Then, she jammed it into a console on her left forearm and started sifting through the data.  Her eyes darted around from monitor to monitor.  “It’s encrypted.”

            “How long will it take you to break it,” Daisy asked.  She tried to follow along with Shelke’s work for a time but gave up after a few seconds.

            “I already have,” Shelke said.  “Now, I am compiling data and distilling it to the most important parts.  I have to be careful, though.  A dip in my productivity might arouse suspicion.”

            Daisy looked at Yuffie, who shrugged and said, “She’s always like this.”  Then, she moved forward, stuffing the last of the bread into her mouth and leaning against the wall.  Her stomach still felt raw, but she could breathe again.  “So, you said you had some other information for me?”

            Shelke nodded absently.  Her eyes glowed like the monitors.  It wasn’t reflection.  They produced their own light.  “Yes.  The Emerald Lotus didn’t just target Edge.  Reports of attacks all over the world have come in.  They struck many W.R.O. facilities alongside more public areas, and it seems they were looking for something.  A pattern points to something more than materia.”

            “Of course.” Yuffie scratched the back of her head and glanced at Daisy.  “Whatever it is, must be old Shinra, huh?”

            “Seems likely,” Daisy said.  “And they must think that either we’ve found it or that we know where to find it.”

            “Right.”  Yuffie returned her attention to Shelke.  “It’s been half a decade and Shinra is still kicking our asses.”

            “Somethings are hard to kill,” she said, fingers flying across a holographic keyboard.  “They’ve started many fires to keep us distracted.  Reeve will be leaving soon to deal with it.”

            “Probably.  How long until you’re done compiling?”

            “I will message you.”

            Yuffie nodded and pushed off the wall.  “Then I am going to get breakfast and digest it before we have to go anywhere.”  She passed Daisy on the way out and gave a wave over her shoulder.  “Happy hunting,” she said, and Daisy followed her.

            Shelke didn’t even look back to see them leave, but she did say goodbye before the door slid shut.

-Disc One-

            Yuffie ate a light lunch and then went outside to rest.  Her body still ached from the battle the day before, and she didn’t feel comfortable wasting energy on her cure materia.  After the surprise attack made by Reed, she didn’t feel comfortable wasting her energy on anything.  The halls were narrow now and dark, and everyone was jumping at shadows.

            Daisy kept her company.  They set out on the deck, watching the sky.  It was clear, devoid of cloud or smoke, and they could smell the sea again.  From where they were, they could see canyons in the distance and the dusty red landscape of wastes.  On the opposite side, they could see Edge and the ruins of Midgar rising behind it.

            Midgar, the city where it all began and, for her, where it all ended.  She didn’t get the chance to fight Sephiroth in the planet’s core, but she was branded a hero anyway.  When she was young, she always felt cheated being stuck with Reeve and Vincent at the meteor’s impact.  It was probably why she was so quick to join the W.R.O.

            During the Deep Ground crisis, she was on the front lines, fighting right alongside Vincent.  At the beginning it felt to her like she was making up for her inactivity during the final battle.  After the fight with Nero, however, she had a different perspective.  It was so dangerous, so deadly, and she was lucky to have survived.  Looking back, she isn’t so sure how she would have handled Sephiroth.  The thought still shook her sometimes.

            The Emerald Lotus attacks were beginning to feel the same way.  Yuffie could see something wrong, and she could see no one was taking steps to fix it, but she didn’t feel right fixing it herself.  The end of the world was a fight she had avoided twice already, and she wasn’t qualified to be in the middle of it now.

            Reeve cleared his throat beside her and drew her attention.  He was wearing a white vest and pants, with the vest buttoned up to his neck.  His beard was neatly trimmed and his hair styled, but he had bags under his eyes.  “You look distracted,” he said, and he leaned forward.  Yuffie glanced at Daisy, who was keeping her distance, and then returned her attention to Reeve.  “Care to talk about it?”

            “Nothing to talk about.”  Yuffie sat up, stretched.  “Just thinking about old battles.”

            Reeve nodded.  “I do the same sometimes.”  He grinned.  “It seemed simpler back then, didn’t it?  Back when the evil was so obvious.”

            “Wasn’t obvious to some people,” Yuffie said, and she gave her own grin.  “Some of us worked for them.”

            Reeve laughed.  “Some of us did.”  He adjusted his cuffs and looked her head on.  “Yuffie, we found a curious thing the other night.  A group of Lotus soldiers had infiltrated an old Shinra lab beneath Midgar.  By the time we mobilized and ended up on scene they were already neutralized.  Would you happen to know anything about that?”

            “Nope.  I was with Daisy all night last night.”

            Reeve glanced at Daisy, who stared resolutely out at the sea.  “Were you?  And what were you doing, exactly?”

            “Checking some leads on materia trade and keeping away from the Emerald Lotus, like you asked.”

            Reeve hummed and smoothed his suit.  “Fine.  If you want to be that way.”  He stands straight, towering over her like he does so many people. He really was tall.  Sometimes, when he spoke with her casually, she forgot about that.  When he looked at her like a disappointed parent, however, she could see it clearly.  “I know you won’t listen, but I am warning you as a friend.  Stay out of it, Yuffie.”

            “Stay out of what, sir?  We were just doing our jobs.”

            He frowned.  “Of course.”  He went to the door and left her there, alone with Daisy, who hazarded a glance back at Yuffie only after he left.

            “He knows.”

            “Of course he knows,” Yuffie said.  “We weren’t discreet.”

            “Should we be worried?”

            “Nah.  We go way back.”

            Daisy sighed.  “I don’t think that will protect you much longer.”

            “Maybe, but it will protect me for now.”  Yuffie’s phone chimed, and she pulled up a message from Shelke.  Then, she stood from her seat.  “That was fast. Come on, Shelke has gotten it ready.  Let’s go and see where we’re off to next.”

            Daisy sighed and nodded her agreement, and she followed Yuffie back inside.

-Disc One-

            Shelke doesn’t turn to greet them as they enter her room.  The door slid shut behind them, trapping them in darkness and the blue glow of the holographic monitors, which were suspended in the shadows.  Information flashes across each monitor in a blur, and Daisy has a hard time believing any of it is memorized.

            Yuffie moved forward and leaned on Shelke’s chair.  “A little birdy told us you had some information.”

            “Is the door closed?”

            Yuffie glanced back.  “Of course.  Do you see the light in here?”

            Shelke took the time to look around.  She returned to her work, fingers dancing across her keyboard with robotic precision.  “I hadn’t noticed.”  Code drifted across screens, looking to Yuffie like alien script. “I was able to access the files,” Shelke said.  “It was old and damaged.  Much of it is fragmented as a result.”

            “Of course it is.” Yuffie sighed toward Daisy, who gave a shrug.  “We can never get a break, huh?”

            “Was it all for nothing,” Daisy asked.  She had leaned against the door frame and watched from a distance.  Shelke frightened her, and Yuffie’s relationship with Shelke confused her.

            “No,” Shelke said absently.  She held out the thumb drive Yuffie had given her earlier, and Yuffie scooped it up.  “What was left on the drive gave me enough information to search in, and I find a direction.”

            “Oh?’  Yuffie glanced at the screens again but saw nothing.  There were personal notes kept in the corner, clipped phrases that meant nothing to the casual observer.  “And what direction is that?”

            “Project D,” Shelke said.  “Multiple files alluded to this Project D.”

            “Let me guess, a secret Shinra project?”

            Shelke nodded.  “It was run by Shinra’s Science Division many years ago.  Information is sparse, but drawing from other sources, I was able to ascertain the goal of the project: the creation of specialized, military grade, hyper powerful materia.”

            Yuffie frowned.  “Makes sense.  And that’s what Lotus is after?”

            “That I do not know.”

            “Right, right.”  Yuffie paced a small circle around the room, which was cluttered with cables and hardware.   She was careful to avoid them as she marched over around and scratched her head.  She stopped behind the holographic monitors and stared through them at the glowing faces of Shelke and Daisy.  Only Daisy seemed to look back.  “Well, that’s good, I guess, but we already knew they were after materia.”

            “There is more,” Shelke said.  She glanced at Yuffie with empty, glowing eyes.  “I cross-referenced the information on these files with information from the W.R.O. databases.”

            “And?”

            “And what I found was highly classified.  Even I didn’t have clearance.”

            “So you hacked it?”

            “So I hacked it,” Shelke said, allowing a ghost of a smile.  “The information was well-guarded, but it led me to an index showing the location of an isolated database that should have what we want.”

            “Isolate database?”

            “High level security.  Anything connected to the network can be accessed by anyone with enough time and skill.  To keep something truly private, you keep it isolated from the network, which is what any adequately run organization will do.  Even then, references to it are kept for practical use, but clearance must be given before the files can ever be accessed.  All of the details about Project D are hidden in the W.R.O.’s primary databases, beneath HQ.”

            Yuffie rubbed her chin.  “So, we already knew about all of this.”

            “It appears so,” Shelke said.  “It has never been secret that Shinra has facilities beneath Midgar.”

            “But they never made it public knowledge, either.”  Yuffie eyes went wide.  “There might be more facilities we don’t know about.  Which means if we access the database, then we can figure out Lotus’ next move.”

            Shelke nodded.

            Yuffie whooped and reached through the monitors to hug Shelke, who allowed it limply.  “Thank you, thank you so much you little brat!”   Then, she ruffled Shelke’s hair on the way to the door.  Daisy stood from the wall and waited.

            “Be careful, Yuffie Kisaragi.  This information isn’t meant to be seen by people of your clearance.  It will be dangerous, and it may lead to trouble.”

            Yuffie grinned.  “Then we’ll just have to keep from getting caught.”

-Disc One-

            Daisy remained silent as she followed Yuffie outside to the car.  They stopped beside it and stared back at the base.  The asphalt was still covered in soot from where the battle took place.  The air defense towers were shattered stalks of exposed circuitry and carnage.  Maintenance workers were taking a break in the hot sun.

            “A lot has happened,” Yuffie said, and then she met Daisy’s gaze.  “You’re worried.”

            Daisy looked at her and nodded.

            “About stealing from the W.R.O.?”

            Another nod.

            “You don’t have to come.”

            “I do.”

            Yuffie laughed and shook her head.  “Nah, Daze, you don’t.  Not there, not this,” she said.  “We’re partners and all, and I’m always happy to have you watch my back, but this is full-blown treason at this point.  Nothing dubious about it.  We’re stealing from our bosses.”

            “I know.”  Daisy chewed her cheek and kicked at the asphalt.  When she had been assigned to Yuffie, she was excited to see what type of person a hero of the Jenova War would be and, at first, was a little disappointed.  Yuffie was loud, impulsive, and disorganized.  She hardly seemed like someone who had saved the world.

            After everything that happened, Daisy had changed her mind.  It seemed like everyone else was the problem and Yuffie was the only solution.  The Emerald Lotus was a crisis on par with Deep Ground, and yet no one was organized.  There were no heroes taking to the streets, just two lone women being hobbled at every turn.

            The thought frightened Daisy.  More than that, it made her feel weak.  She liked working for the Hunters, and she liked working alongside Yuffie and Oliver.  It was a good life, hard work, but safe by comparison to what was recently started.  Yes, there was combat involved, but it wasn’t war, and what the Lotus brought with them was, and if they were to get caught it would be a front on both sides.

            “Seriously, Daisy,” Yuffie said now, all of the humor leaving her face.  In all their years working together, Daisy never saw Yuffie so sober.  She looked almost like an adult as she took Daisy’s hands and gave them a squeeze.  “I’ll be fine on my own.”

            “No,” Daisy said.

            “Sure, I will.  I mean, come on, I’m the great ninja Yuffie.”

            “That’s not what I mean,” Daisy said, and she was shaking.  “I’m scared, Yuffie.  This is big and it’s scary, and that’s why I know I can’t stay.  Something is going on out there.  A storm or something, and everyone here just has their heads buried in the sand.”  She squeezed Yuffie’s hands back.  “And that’s why I know this is where I should be.  I just don’t like it.”

            Yuffie laughed.  “Me neither,” she said, and she sighed.  Sobriety left her, and she smiled like an adolescent again.  “Well, then, I guess this will make us partners in crime.”

            Daisy laughed nervously.  “I guess, but we’re only doing this because it’s right.  Because it has to be done.”

            “Exactly,” Yuffie said.  “Betraying them to save them.”

            “How many people thought that way before they died, you think?”

            “Doesn’t matter, Daze, ‘cause we won’t die.  Now, come on.”  Yuffie grinned and pulled Daisy toward the car.  “I think it’s about time we went and broke some rules.”

Emerald Crisis--Final Fantasy VII--Disc One, Mission 11

Edge: Seventh Heaven Bar\

            Daisy dropped Yuffie off at the bar before returning to the Lodge to rest.  Yuffie offered to let her stay but didn’t have the heart to argue when refused.  Instead, Yuffie shuffled inside as the sun climbed slowly over the buildings and glittered against the windows.  Marlene and Denzel were just waking as she entered and offered sleepy greetings that she didn’t remember returning.

            Yuffie slept deeply, forgetting for a time the aches and the bruises, both physical and emotional.  Her dreams were peaceful and faraway, memories dragged up in the wake of her battles.  She didn’t remember them clearly when she woke up, just lilies floating on the water and Wutai seen from a mountain top.  The sun was golden, and she had prayed to Leviathan before leaving home for good.

            Her phone work her when she saw that man again.  He was wearing a mask this time, but his eyes were dark like hers.  They were Wutai.

            “Hello?”

            “Yuffie Kisaragi.”

            Yuffie felt her face to make sure it was there and found it hurt to move her arms.  She groaned slowly as everything else began to hurt again, too.  “What?”

            “How are you?”

            “Sore and sleepy.”  She sat up, slowly, whining with each movement.  It wasn’t just pain anymore.  Her muscles felt dead.  She was sleeping so well and needed a bit more of it.  The world was blurry when she opened her eyes and a bit too bright.  She felt sick and had to take a few minutes to breathe through the nausea.  “Why are you calling?”

            “Ms. Daisy Gould returned without you.  I was just making sure you were well.”

            “Well enough,” Yuffie said.  She stretched her feet and toes and listened as they popped.  A breath, and it didn’t hurt so much to breathe anymore.  “We followed your lead to Shinra HQ and found some bad people up to bad things.”

            “Of course.”  Yuffie could hear the distraction in Shelke’s voice and imagined her in a dark room, lit only by the glow of her eyes and the holographic monitors that surrounded her on all sides.  “Did you find anything of value?”

            “Not really.  They’re looking for materia, it seems.”

            “We knew that already.”

            Yuffie pulled away from the phone long enough to blow a raspberry.  Then, she remembered the data she got from the hard drives and rose to dig through her clothes to find it.  She held up the thumb drive in the light.  “We got something for you, too.”

            “Good.  You should deliver it to me here.  I do not trust it going through the W.R.O.’s system.”

            Yuffie frowned and thought of Reed.  Then, she thought of Reeve, and her frown deepened. “Know what? Neither do I.  I’ll be there soon to see you in person.”

            “Good. I have something to tell you when you get here.”

Midgar Region: W.R.O.’s Hunter’s Lodge\

            Daisy was awake already when Yuffie called, and she arrived shortly after.  Yuffie hid out in her room and nursed her hurt.  When Daisy arrived, Yuffie offered a passing farewell to Tifa and the others before going outside.  She didn’t eat breakfast because it would just come back up during the car ride.

            Half an hour later they arrive at the Lodge.  The surface damage was mostly cleared.  Anti-air turrets broken in the assault had been repaired or patched.  Their remains stood, stunted, in the distance, their wiry insides tightly knotted or otherwise frayed, exposed like a fresh wound.

            Underneath the damage was still showing.  Walls were blackened from flame, cracked and fractured or otherwise collapsed entirely.  The workers there were tired and frightened.  They looked over their shoulders constantly, fearful of what might come.  The W.R.O.’s lingering suspicions helped nothing.

            Yuffie followed Daisy through the halls, holding her stomach and lamenting her decision to forego breakfast.  They got her some bread before going to Shelke’s office.  When the door opened, she greeted them without looking away from the glowing monitors in front of her.  Yuffie groans.

            “You’ve brought the data.”

            Another groan, and Yuffie handed off her thumb drive.

            Shelke turned it over in her hands and gave it a quick glance.  Then, she jammed it into a console on her left forearm and started sifting through the data.  Her eyes darted around from monitor to monitor.  “It’s encrypted.”

            “How long will it take you to break it,” Daisy asked.  She tried to follow along with Shelke’s work for a time but gave up after a few seconds.

            “I already have,” Shelke said.  “Now, I am compiling data and distilling it to the most important parts.  I have to be careful, though.  A dip in my productivity might arouse suspicion.”

            Daisy looked at Yuffie, who shrugged and said, “She’s always like this.”  Then, she moved forward, stuffing the last of the bread into her mouth and leaning against the wall.  Her stomach still felt raw, but she could breathe again.  “So, you said you had some other information for me?”

            Shelke nodded absently.  Her eyes glowed like the monitors.  It wasn’t reflection.  They produced their own light.  “Yes.  The Emerald Lotus didn’t just target Edge.  Reports of attacks all over the world have come in.  They struck many W.R.O. facilities alongside more public areas, and it seems they were looking for something.  A pattern points to something more than materia.”

            “Of course.” Yuffie scratched the back of her head and glanced at Daisy.  “Whatever it is, must be old Shinra, huh?”

            “Seems likely,” Daisy said.  “And they must think that either we’ve found it or that we know where to find it.”

            “Right.”  Yuffie returned her attention to Shelke.  “It’s been half a decade and Shinra is still kicking our asses.”

            “Somethings are hard to kill,” she said, fingers flying across a holographic keyboard.  “They’ve started many fires to keep us distracted.  Reeve will be leaving soon to deal with it.”

            “Probably.  How long until you’re done compiling?”

            “I will message you.”

            Yuffie nodded and pushed off the wall.  “Then I am going to get breakfast and digest it before we have to go anywhere.”  She passed Daisy on the way out and gave a wave over her shoulder.  “Happy hunting,” she said, and Daisy followed her.

            Shelke didn’t even look back to see them leave, but she did say goodbye before the door slid shut.

-Disc One-

            Yuffie ate a light lunch and then went outside to rest.  Her body still ached from the battle the day before, and she didn’t feel comfortable wasting energy on her cure materia.  After the surprise attack made by Reed, she didn’t feel comfortable wasting her energy on anything.  The halls were narrow now and dark, and everyone was jumping at shadows.

            Daisy kept her company.  They set out on the deck, watching the sky.  It was clear, devoid of cloud or smoke, and they could smell the sea again.  From where they were, they could see canyons in the distance and the dusty red landscape of wastes.  On the opposite side, they could see Edge and the ruins of Midgar rising behind it.

            Midgar, the city where it all began and, for her, where it all ended.  She didn’t get the chance to fight Sephiroth in the planet’s core, but she was branded a hero anyway.  When she was young, she always felt cheated being stuck with Reeve and Vincent at the meteor’s impact.  It was probably why she was so quick to join the W.R.O.

            During the Deep Ground crisis, she was on the front lines, fighting right alongside Vincent.  At the beginning it felt to her like she was making up for her inactivity during the final battle.  After the fight with Nero, however, she had a different perspective.  It was so dangerous, so deadly, and she was lucky to have survived.  Looking back, she isn’t so sure how she would have handled Sephiroth.  The thought still shook her sometimes.

            The Emerald Lotus attacks were beginning to feel the same way.  Yuffie could see something wrong, and she could see no one was taking steps to fix it, but she didn’t feel right fixing it herself.  The end of the world was a fight she had avoided twice already, and she wasn’t qualified to be in the middle of it now.

            Reeve cleared his throat beside her and drew her attention.  He was wearing a white vest and pants, with the vest buttoned up to his neck.  His beard was neatly trimmed and his hair styled, but he had bags under his eyes.  “You look distracted,” he said, and he leaned forward.  Yuffie glanced at Daisy, who was keeping her distance, and then returned her attention to Reeve.  “Care to talk about it?”

            “Nothing to talk about.”  Yuffie sat up, stretched.  “Just thinking about old battles.”

            Reeve nodded.  “I do the same sometimes.”  He grinned.  “It seemed simpler back then, didn’t it?  Back when the evil was so obvious.”

            “Wasn’t obvious to some people,” Yuffie said, and she gave her own grin.  “Some of us worked for them.”

            Reeve laughed.  “Some of us did.”  He adjusted his cuffs and looked her head on.  “Yuffie, we found a curious thing the other night.  A group of Lotus soldiers had infiltrated an old Shinra lab beneath Midgar.  By the time we mobilized and ended up on scene they were already neutralized.  Would you happen to know anything about that?”

            “Nope.  I was with Daisy all night last night.”

            Reeve glanced at Daisy, who stared resolutely out at the sea.  “Were you?  And what were you doing, exactly?”

            “Checking some leads on materia trade and keeping away from the Emerald Lotus, like you asked.”

            Reeve hummed and smoothed his suit.  “Fine.  If you want to be that way.”  He stands straight, towering over her like he does so many people. He really was tall.  Sometimes, when he spoke with her casually, she forgot about that.  When he looked at her like a disappointed parent, however, she could see it clearly.  “I know you won’t listen, but I am warning you as a friend.  Stay out of it, Yuffie.”

            “Stay out of what, sir?  We were just doing our jobs.”

            He frowned.  “Of course.”  He went to the door and left her there, alone with Daisy, who hazarded a glance back at Yuffie only after he left.

            “He knows.”

            “Of course he knows,” Yuffie said.  “We weren’t discreet.”

            “Should we be worried?”

            “Nah.  We go way back.”

            Daisy sighed.  “I don’t think that will protect you much longer.”

            “Maybe, but it will protect me for now.”  Yuffie’s phone chimed, and she pulled up a message from Shelke.  Then, she stood from her seat.  “That was fast. Come on, Shelke has gotten it ready.  Let’s go and see where we’re off to next.”

            Daisy sighed and nodded her agreement, and she followed Yuffie back inside.

-Disc One-

            Shelke doesn’t turn to greet them as they enter her room.  The door slid shut behind them, trapping them in darkness and the blue glow of the holographic monitors, which were suspended in the shadows.  Information flashes across each monitor in a blur, and Daisy has a hard time believing any of it is memorized.

            Yuffie moved forward and leaned on Shelke’s chair.  “A little birdy told us you had some information.”

            “Is the door closed?”

            Yuffie glanced back.  “Of course.  Do you see the light in here?”

            Shelke took the time to look around.  She returned to her work, fingers dancing across her keyboard with robotic precision.  “I hadn’t noticed.”  Code drifted across screens, looking to Yuffie like alien script. “I was able to access the files,” Shelke said.  “It was old and damaged.  Much of it is fragmented as a result.”

            “Of course it is.” Yuffie sighed toward Daisy, who gave a shrug.  “We can never get a break, huh?”

            “Was it all for nothing,” Daisy asked.  She had leaned against the door frame and watched from a distance.  Shelke frightened her, and Yuffie’s relationship with Shelke confused her.

            “No,” Shelke said absently.  She held out the thumb drive Yuffie had given her earlier, and Yuffie scooped it up.  “What was left on the drive gave me enough information to search in, and I find a direction.”

            “Oh?’  Yuffie glanced at the screens again but saw nothing.  There were personal notes kept in the corner, clipped phrases that meant nothing to the casual observer.  “And what direction is that?”

            “Project D,” Shelke said.  “Multiple files alluded to this Project D.”

            “Let me guess, a secret Shinra project?”

            Shelke nodded.  “It was run by Shinra’s Science Division many years ago.  Information is sparse, but drawing from other sources, I was able to ascertain the goal of the project: the creation of specialized, military grade, hyper powerful materia.”

            Yuffie frowned.  “Makes sense.  And that’s what Lotus is after?”

            “That I do not know.”

            “Right, right.”  Yuffie paced a small circle around the room, which was cluttered with cables and hardware.   She was careful to avoid them as she marched over around and scratched her head.  She stopped behind the holographic monitors and stared through them at the glowing faces of Shelke and Daisy.  Only Daisy seemed to look back.  “Well, that’s good, I guess, but we already knew they were after materia.”

            “There is more,” Shelke said.  She glanced at Yuffie with empty, glowing eyes.  “I cross-referenced the information on these files with information from the W.R.O. databases.”

            “And?”

            “And what I found was highly classified.  Even I didn’t have clearance.”

            “So you hacked it?”

            “So I hacked it,” Shelke said, allowing a ghost of a smile.  “The information was well-guarded, but it led me to an index showing the location of an isolated database that should have what we want.”

            “Isolate database?”

            “High level security.  Anything connected to the network can be accessed by anyone with enough time and skill.  To keep something truly private, you keep it isolated from the network, which is what any adequately run organization will do.  Even then, references to it are kept for practical use, but clearance must be given before the files can ever be accessed.  All of the details about Project D are hidden in the W.R.O.’s primary databases, beneath HQ.”

            Yuffie rubbed her chin.  “So, we already knew about all of this.”

            “It appears so,” Shelke said.  “It has never been secret that Shinra has facilities beneath Midgar.”

            “But they never made it public knowledge, either.”  Yuffie eyes went wide.  “There might be more facilities we don’t know about.  Which means if we access the database, then we can figure out Lotus’ next move.”

            Shelke nodded.

            Yuffie whooped and reached through the monitors to hug Shelke, who allowed it limply.  “Thank you, thank you so much you little brat!”   Then, she ruffled Shelke’s hair on the way to the door.  Daisy stood from the wall and waited.

            “Be careful, Yuffie Kisaragi.  This information isn’t meant to be seen by people of your clearance.  It will be dangerous, and it may lead to trouble.”

            Yuffie grinned.  “Then we’ll just have to keep from getting caught.”

-Disc One-

            Daisy remained silent as she followed Yuffie outside to the car.  They stopped beside it and stared back at the base.  The asphalt was still covered in soot from where the battle took place.  The air defense towers were shattered stalks of exposed circuitry and carnage.  Maintenance workers were taking a break in the hot sun.

            “A lot has happened,” Yuffie said, and then she met Daisy’s gaze.  “You’re worried.”

            Daisy looked at her and nodded.

            “About stealing from the W.R.O.?”

            Another nod.

            “You don’t have to come.”

            “I do.”

            Yuffie laughed and shook her head.  “Nah, Daze, you don’t.  Not there, not this,” she said.  “We’re partners and all, and I’m always happy to have you watch my back, but this is full-blown treason at this point.  Nothing dubious about it.  We’re stealing from our bosses.”

            “I know.”  Daisy chewed her cheek and kicked at the asphalt.  When she had been assigned to Yuffie, she was excited to see what type of person a hero of the Jenova War would be and, at first, was a little disappointed.  Yuffie was loud, impulsive, and disorganized.  She hardly seemed like someone who had saved the world.

            After everything that happened, Daisy had changed her mind.  It seemed like everyone else was the problem and Yuffie was the only solution.  The Emerald Lotus was a crisis on par with Deep Ground, and yet no one was organized.  There were no heroes taking to the streets, just two lone women being hobbled at every turn.

            The thought frightened Daisy.  More than that, it made her feel weak.  She liked working for the Hunters, and she liked working alongside Yuffie and Oliver.  It was a good life, hard work, but safe by comparison to what was recently started.  Yes, there was combat involved, but it wasn’t war, and what the Lotus brought with them was, and if they were to get caught it would be a front on both sides.

            “Seriously, Daisy,” Yuffie said now, all of the humor leaving her face.  In all their years working together, Daisy never saw Yuffie so sober.  She looked almost like an adult as she took Daisy’s hands and gave them a squeeze.  “I’ll be fine on my own.”

            “No,” Daisy said.

            “Sure, I will.  I mean, come on, I’m the great ninja Yuffie.”

            “That’s not what I mean,” Daisy said, and she was shaking.  “I’m scared, Yuffie.  This is big and it’s scary, and that’s why I know I can’t stay.  Something is going on out there.  A storm or something, and everyone here just has their heads buried in the sand.”  She squeezed Yuffie’s hands back.  “And that’s why I know this is where I should be.  I just don’t like it.”

            Yuffie laughed.  “Me neither,” she said, and she sighed.  Sobriety left her, and she smiled like an adolescent again.  “Well, then, I guess this will make us partners in crime.”

            Daisy laughed nervously.  “I guess, but we’re only doing this because it’s right.  Because it has to be done.”

            “Exactly,” Yuffie said.  “Betraying them to save them.”

            “How many people thought that way before they died, you think?”

            “Doesn’t matter, Daze, ‘cause we won’t die.  Now, come on.”  Yuffie grinned and pulled Daisy toward the car.  “I think it’s about time we went and broke some rules.”

Emerald Crisis--Final Fantasy VII--Disc One, Mission 7

Midgar Region: W.R.O. Hunter’s Lodge\

            Smoke lingered in the skies above the Lodge.  Around the facility, W.R.O. personnel worked through the night to quench the flames and restore power.  Wires had been cut and the facility left dark.  The back-up generators didn’t even last through the night.

            Reeve took charge after the battle and organized the Hunters again.  Extra soldiers were relocated and used to secure the facility.  Yuffie was returned to the infirmary, where she was checked over thoroughly by an overworked medic, who gave her a rushed go ahead and went on to the next body.

            The materia left behind was moved to the Edge branch of the W.R.O.  Reeve would follow it there a few hours later.  All of the passcodes at the Lodge were changed in short order.  The passcodes throughout the rest of the system were done the day before.  Specialists were brought in to seek out any lingering threats.

            Yuffie spent her time in the mess, watching the city in the distance.  The sky was bleak and grey, and by midday the smoke was finally starting to dissipate.  She could still smell burning wood and hot steel, but the salty sea air was mixing slowly into it.

            She was leaning against the guard rail when a deep voice came from behind her.  “How are you feeling?”  Yuffie turned to find Reeve standing there, clutching two cups of black coffee.  He offered her one, and she accepted it graciously and set it to the side with no intention of drinking it.  “We didn’t get our chance to talk after that first attack.”

            “No, we didn’t.”  She looked at him.  “You’re still busy as ever.  And tall, too. And is that grey in your beard?”

            Reeve laughed.  “Yes, on all three accounts.”  He blew on his coffee and then sipped it slowly.  “How are your injuries?”

            “You kidding?”  Yuffie punched the air.  “I’m the Great Ninja Yuffie.  Recovery is my middle name.  So long as you spell my name with materia.”

            “Hmm.  You always were full of energy.”  Reeve rested the cup on the guard rail and rested his hands around it.  He stared out at the barrens, toward Edge, and beyond it.  “Two attacks in under a week.  They’re becoming more aggressive.”

            “Yeah.  Did you guys have any idea that this would happen?”

            “If I had, do you think I would have let it happen.  It all makes sense in hindsight, however.  Reed was insistent on keeping Hollis here.  I should have noticed.”

            “Yeah, probably.”  Yuffie nudged Reeve, who laughed quietly.

            “I wanted to warn you, Yuffie.  It isn’t just Reed that was the problem.  He had authority, but not enough to do this alone.”

            Yuffie remembered Oliver.  Her levity died.  She took a deep breath and grabbed the guard rail.  “Yeah.”

            “We’ll be investigating everybody.”
            “Me?”

            Reeve laughed again and scratched his beard.  She could see the bags under his eyes and the sleepless nights that caused them.  Looking at him now, she could also see that he was losing weight.  His cheekbones were more pronounced.  “No, not you, at least not really.  We’ll ask questions, but everyone knows where your loyalties lie.”

            “Thanks for that, I guess.”

            Reeve hummed and drummed his fingers against his cup.  He took another sip.  “They took some experimental materia, powerful things we found in some old Shinra facilities.  Very dangerous, if it falls into the wrong hands.”

            “The Emerald Lotus is definitely the wrong hanss.”  She pushed off the rail, stood with her hands on her hips.  “When do I leave?”

            “Hm?”  Reeve looked at her.  “You don’t.  I want you here, back on your original mission.  With the Hunters down a director and a field agent, and the others here under scrutiny…”

            “Daisy is in no trouble, and she can do all the work alone.  Seriously, I think sometimes I just get in her way.”

            “She’s better at hoarding materia than you are? I find that hard to believe.”  He smiled his winning, politician’s smile, and it was hard for Yuffie to remember that it was fake.

            “Reeve, come on.  I can be of better use to the W.R.O. than this, and you know it.”

            “We’ve already got someone on it, someone good.”  She glared at him, and he sipped his coffee to keep from looking her in the eyes.  “Look, I appreciate it, but what we need right now is stability.  You’re good at your job, cleaned up Wutai in a matter of days.  And Junon? I still brag to my friends about how I knew you way back when over that.”

            She added a frown to the mix.  “You don’t have any friends.”

            “Now, Yuffie…”

            “No, I deserve better, and you know I do.”

            “You’re fine where you are.”  She scoffed, and he said, “I mean, you are needed where you are.  Please.”

            She sighed now.  “Once, you trusted me with your most important missions.  Remember Deep Ground?”

            “I still do, Yuffie.  This is important.”

            “To you, but not to me.”  She turned on heel and returned inside, leaving Reeve alone with both coffees.

-Disc One-

            Yuffie wandered the halls in a huff.  She found her way downstairs and gazed at the broken materia vault, now emptied of all of its contents.  The materia was moved immediately, but it was futile.  Everything worth taking was taken, and the W.R.O. had only leftovers and an empty vault.  She stood in the center of it, hugging herself, staring at her loss.

            That was how Daisy found her, seated in the center, arms around her knees.  She joined Yuffie there, and they were in silence for a few seconds before Daisy asked, “You okay?”  Yuffie nodded and left it at that.  “You know,” Daisy said while gazing around the room, “I don’t think I’ve ever been down here.  From the very start, Reed and Oliver insisted on doing the cataloging.  At the time, I always thought it was a relief.”  She sighed.  “I always hated the paperwork.”

            “We both did,” Yuffie said, sulking on her bent knees.  “We were idiots.”

            “Can’t argue with you there.”  Daisy gazed at the burns across the floor, the scratches made by the door as it was hurled across the room.  They spread like flower petals from the doorway.  Daisy traced them with her fingers.  “Still, it’s hard to believe that they would betray us.”

            “Harder to believe that they could pull it off.  No, actually, not hard to believe, just frustrating.”  Yuffie glanced at Daisy.  “You okay?”

            “I am,” Daisy sighed, “I am surviving it.  I went for a walk.  Oliver said—He told me I could use some fresh air.  I was at the beach when I heard the explosions and made it back just in time to see you tumbling down.”

            “Oh.”

            “Did he say anything to you?”

            “No.  The coward.”

            “He—He has his reasons.  He must.”

            “Daisy, don’t waste your time on it, and don’t give him the credit.”  Yuffie glared at the walls, at the empty shelves, at the fractured tiles of the floor.  “We doesn’t deserve it.”

            “I guess not.”

            Yuffie looked at Daisy, who stared at the floor now, and she hugged her.  They had worked together for years and, even with a blade sticking from her gut, Daisy has never looked so weak before.  Yuffie rubbed her back.  “Don’t listen to me.  I mean, he was always fussing at us.  Maybe, in a way, he was trying to warn us about what was coming.”  Yuffie took a deep breath as they parted.  “Maybe, I just need some of that fresh air you were talking about.”

            Daisy sniffled and nodded, and then she rubbed her eyes.  When Yuffie stood, Daisy stayed, staring at the wall.

            On the way out, Yuffie pulled up her phone and called Shelke.

-Disc One-

            When Shelke answered she told Yuffie where to meet her at the Lodge.  Reeve flew her in to look over encrypted files found on Reed’s person after the battle was over.  She was given use of Reed’s old office, which had been completely cleared out.  Everything that he bad touched was taken for investigation.

            Shelke had her massive computer network set up.  Monitors hung from the walls and lit the room with their blue-white glow.  She sat in the center, eyes shining orange, her fingers doing an intricate dance across cyberspace.  The room smelled faintly of hot steel and stale air.

            Yuffie was in there for a few minutes just watching her before Shelke even noticed.  Even then, her acknowledgement meant a slight, somewhat disinterested nod, but it was enough.  Yuffie paced the room and looked at the data scrolling rapidly across the screens.  It moved too fast for her to read any of it. “So, Reeve brought you in?”

            “The Director asked me to analyze data drives found on Reed’s person, as well as his personal data drives and communications logs.”

            “Oh, come on.  Reed was pretty dumb, but he wouldn’t just leave anything incriminating on him.  It’s all got to be wiped, right?”

            “Yes, but anything deleted can be found and reconstructed if you know where to look.  This is why Reed made efforts to hide the data drives on his person, because he knew about me.”

            “Too bad for him that he got caught.”

            “Yes,” Shelke said.  She spoke with the same absence, as if she wasn’t in the room.  From Yuffie’s understanding, the other woman probably wasn’t.  With how her abilities worked, she was a million places at once.  Her corporeal body didn’t matter; her reach was infinite.  “I have files for you, if you would like them.”

            Yuffie stopped and stared at Shelke.  “Reeve doesn’t want me on the case.”  Hurt bled into her words, more hurt than she intended to show.

            “I know that,” Shelke said, and she looked Yuffie in the eyes.  The glow of her eyes dimmed, and Yuffie could see their natural blue behind it.  It was strange seeing her like that.  She hadn’t grown an inch and never would.  Forever, she would be an adult woman trapped in a child’s body, never aging, never changing.  Shelke reached into her back pocket and produced a data drive, which she jammed into one of the many devices on her arms.  Her eyes glowed.  “I also know that you’re not one to listen.”

            “True but I’m not feeling so defiant anymore.”  Yuffie sighed.  “Maybe I’m getting older, or maybe it’s because its’s Reeve telling me to back down this time.  I mean, he’s a smart guy and is running the entire W.R.O.  If there’s anyone out there who knows better than me, it’s probably him.”

            “But that isn’t what you’re afraid of.”

            Yuffie’s knitted her brow.  “Uh, huh?”

            “You are not afraid of disobeying but of what will happen after.  You’re afraid that you will make it worse or, perhaps, that you may even find yourself questioning the W.R.O. and Reeve himself.”

            “Please.”  Yuffie scoffed, shook her head.  “Now, you’re just talking crazy.  I wouldn’t find anything.”

            “There are black boxes that even I can’t get into,” Shelke said, and her eyes glowed like twin stars in the near-darkness of the room.  She pulled the drive from her arm and held it out to Yuffie.  “Even among the W.R.O. files.”

            Yuffie stared at the drive.  “Shelke, I don’t know.”

            “Yuffie Kisaragi, you know very well what you want and what you are.”  Shelke stared at Yuffie now and through her.  Her face was expressionless, her tone was empty, but there was something in the glow of her eyes, something in the blue of them.  Yuffie couldn’t quite place it, but she imagined it was something like hope.  “You are the White Rose of Wutai, the Great Ninja, veteran of the Jenova War, and the Deep Ground Incident.  You are Yuffie Kisaragi, for all the good and bad that entails.”

            “Veteran,” Yuffie repeated solemnly.  “To be honest, that just makes me feel old and tired.”  Even as she said it, she took the drive from Shelke.  “What exactly is on this thing?”

            “Everything,” Shelke said.  “And you have it first.”

            Yuffie grinned.  “It’s always good to have a head start in a race.”  She pocketed the drive.  “I’ll look at it later, but I have to ask, Shelke, why are you helping me?”

            Shelke paused in speech only.  Her hands moved as she thought, moving files, closing pages, opening new ones, altering her programs.  She seemed hardly human.  Even when she spoke, it was somewhat mechanical.  “Yours is a unique perspective, and one worth supporting.  You have been there from the beginning, starting with the field reports of Soldier First Class Zack Fair during his missions hunting rare materia at Shinra’s command, to the war with Shinra and then with Jenova after, through the battle with Bahamut Sin and the Remnants, and even during Deep Ground.  You have saved the world countless times and always done your best.  And you have saved your friends, as well.”

            Yuffie laughed, and she smiled proudly.  “Well, I guess.”  She stretched her arms over head.  “And you know that off the top of your head?”

            “I know it all,” Shelke said.  “I can access the electromagnetic field that surrounds the planet and, through it, interact with any computer within the network within an instant.  Anything hidden from me is hidden for a reason.”

            “Ah, right, you’re omniscient.  You would think I would remember that, considering how often it saves my rear.”  Yuffie went to the door. “Reeve won’t be happy, you know.”

            “Irrelevant.  You have been there from the beginning.  It hardly seems appropriate to change that now.”

            Yuffie glanced over her shoulder, and she smiled.  “You know, sometimes, you make no sense.”  She plugged the drive into her bracer and pulled up a holographic interface on its surface to start sifting through the files.  “But, who knows, maybe if I act quick enough, he won’t have time to get mad.”

            “That seems unlikely,” Shelke said.

            “Yeah,” Yuffie said, just before she stepped into the hall.  She had the files up and was starting her search.  “But, it’s worth a try.”

-Disc One-

            Yuffie spent her time alone in the mess hall, looking through file after file.  Reeve avoided her after their conversation.  All of the W.R.O. workers at the base did, too, and, without them, there wasn’t much left of the Hunters to bother her.  Only she and Daisy worked in the field and, with things as they were, Yuffie doubted more agents would be assigned to bolster their ranks.

            The files Shelke gave her were more than fragmented data.  She had, to the best of her ability, reconstructed much of the corrupted files through use of her own information resources and sheer intellect.  The picture it painted was not one of comfort.  The Emerald Lotus was larger than anyone expected, and they were looking for more than simple materia.  What they took, and what they left behind, was proof of that.

            Reed spent a lot of his time researching Midgar and had, apparently, pushed for Edge for years.  There was something near thre the Lotus wanted, but they didn’t have the resources or the numbers at the time to get it.  Their plan was to use the W.R.O., particularly the Hunters, to seek it out.  That plan seemed to have changed once Yuffie got herself involved.

            Whatever they were looking for was underneath Midgar.  This came as no great surprise to Yuffie, who knew from experience of Shinra’s deepest, darkest secrets.  They buried many things beneath the city as they built it.  She could only imagine the sort of dangers that still waited there, and she went to her locker to grab her things and prepare for the worst.

            That is when Daisy met her on the surface, on the burned and blackened landing strip outside of the base.  For so long Yuffie had seen the Hunter’s Lodge as home base.  She didn’t visit often, but it felt safe enough.  The battle changed it for her, reminded her of her first reaction on the day of their arrival.  It looked like a Shinra military base again, and she didn’t like how that left her feeling.

            Daisy was dressed in a jacket and jeans.  She had a tie fastened around her neck underneath the jacket and a white shirt buttoned and tucked.  Her pistols were hidden beneath the jacket.  Her dark hair was up in a tight ponytail.  They stared into each other’s eyes.

            “You look like you’re in better health.”  Yuffie tried to smile but knew it didn’t fit.  She didn’t feel like smiling after everything that happened.  Like Daisy, she was fully dressed, wearing her bracer and having her shuriken strapped in.  All of her materia was allocated appropriately.  She had her phone fixed inside of the bracer and the holographic interface ready.  “Reeve got big plans for you?”

            “He hasn’t talked to me yet.”  Daisy flipped her hair and looked away.  She and Yuffie stared out at the wasteland together.  Everything between Midgar and the sea was dying.  The air still smelled vaguely of smoke.  “I’m feeling restless, though.  It feels like I haven’t done anything lately.”

            “I know what you mean.  Feels wrong waiting around in a bed while the world goes crazy around you.”

            “Exactly.”  She looked at Yuffie again and crossed her arms over her chest.  “I’ll be frank; you look like you have a lead.”

            “I have…something.”

            “Is it related to Oliver?”

            Yuffie went quiet but stared Daisy in the eyes.  She couldn’t bring herself to speak.  Reed was a jerk and he was on the wrong side, but that didn’t mean he was entirely wrong about her.  She could still see Daisy with a blade sticking from her stomach.  Yuffie took a deep breath.  “Shelke found some files and pieced them together.  They don’t tell me much, but they did give me a direction.”

            “And you’re going to follow it?”  Yuffie nodded, and Daisy repeated the gesture.  “I’m going, too.”

            “No, Daisy, just, no.  You’re still injured, and Reeve doesn’t even want me involved.  Don’t let me drag you down.”

            “You’re not,” Daisy said.  “This isn’t about you at all.  It’s about me, and it’s about the dangers that the Emerald Lotus pose to everyone.”  She scratched her nose, and then her eyes hardened.  “Besides, I have a few words for Oliver.”

            Yuffie watched Daisy stare ahead, firmly, resolved.  It wasn’t anger that drove her, and it wasn’t thoughtless ambition.  Daisy was certain, clear, and convicted.  It showed in the set of her shoulders, in the steadiness of her gaze.  Yuffie couldn’t drag her anywhere she didn’t want to go, and she also couldn’t keep her from following.

            Yuffie knew that sort of conviction, and she also knew better than to challenge it.  She sighed.  “We’re going to lose our jobs for this, you know?”

            “Maybe but we’re also going to save the world.”

            Yuffie grinned, and they locked hands.  “You know, I’m always getting you into the best trouble,” she said, and more softly, “You’re with me?”

            “Until the end.”

            They squeezed each other’s hands and then burst into laughter.  Yuffie lifted her left leg and rubbed her foot against the back of her right leg.  “Okay, enough of that,” she said, thumbs hooked in her pants.  She looked around the asphalt.  “Your car still good? We need to head to Midgar ASAP if we want to get there before the others do.”